State DEP gives conditions to group proposing gas wastewater facility

The state Department of Environmental Protection has given a group proposing a natural gas wastewater facility in Lake Township a set of conditions to comply with when re-submitting their permit application.

Duryea-based United Sanitation Network, Inc. - a partner with Waveco Energy Services, Roadwave LLC and the FAST Rig Support Company - applied to DEP in December for a general waste permit to build a facility on land owned by 4-P Realty, located on Meeker Outlet Road north of Sholtis Road.

After reviewing the application, DEP sent the project principals a five-page letter listing numerous deficiencies that need to be corrected.

During a non-public meeting on Tuesday, DEP stressed that Waveco has to get approval from Luzerne County's zoning hearing board, and also has to finalize the site location prior to submitting a revised application.

"DEP and Waveco have agreed that the company will not submit its revised permit application unless and until Waveco obtains final zoning approval and a building location," DEP Spokeswoman Colleen Connolly said.

According to Connolly:

n Contrary to what is in the application, Waveco representatives stated they are not proposing any specific treatment method at the site. A vacuum truck would be used to remove sludge periodically from the bottom of frack water tanks. Waveco will revise its application to state clearly they will not perform any treatment of wastewater, and the revised application will identify the facility that the sludge would be shipped to for solidification and disposal.

n Waveco has to obtain approval to operate overweight trucks on local roads with 10-ton weight limits.

n The revised application will contain a written response summary specifying how each technical deficiency in DEP's Feb. 19 letter has been addressed.

n The revised application, plans, specifications and reports are required to be prepared under the supervision of a licensed professional engineer, and should be accompanied by his or her certification.

The Luzerne County zoning hearing for a use variance is scheduled for 7 p.m. June 3 in the courthouse.

We welcome user discussion on our site, under the following guidelines:

To comment you must first create a profile and sign-in with a verified DISQUS account or social network ID. Sign up here.

Comments in violation of the rules will be denied, and repeat violators will be banned. Please help police the community by flagging offensive comments for our moderators to review. By posting a comment, you agree to our full terms and conditions. Click here to read terms and conditions.